Black & Green modding thread (1998 Civic DX Coupe base)

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Good on you.

But... I confuse easily, am I looking at reflections of the tire bottoms on the undertray material.

Hahaha! Yes, I guess you are. The picture has more glare than I realized when I took it. The black plastic has quite a shine, almost as good as new paint.

[freebeard]

So the bottom of the fender is enclosed. Is there an inner wall behind the tire?

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by freebeard

So the bottom of the fender is enclosed. Is there an inner wall behind the tire?

Yes, sort of. I made them, but the one on the driver side is temporary and the one of the muffler side is incomplete because... well there is a hot muffler there.

But the short answer is yes, I have partial inner walls blocking most of the air.

[California98Civic]

There are two ecomod projects in the offing, but I am doing several things to my car at my daughter's request before I start taking her to high school in this car five days a week. All looks and comfort, meant to take te pressure off the idea that I should get a different car:

Coverking leatherette seat covers:


Leather steering wheel cover:


Used tint re-purposed on part of the upper windshield:


That last one I will have redo, because I used the wrong adhesive and it bubbled. Grrr...

More to come...

[Baltothewolf]

If I was you, I would have looked into adding some sort of seat cooling system since you had the covers off anyway.

[California98Civic]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

If I was you, I would have looked into adding some sort of seat cooling system since you had the covers off anyway.

It's a great suggestion. And FWIW, I actually did investigate, and I have notes on Viotek, Wagan, and Sharper Image models. But they all seemed to have the downsides of fan noise, condensation, or relatively high price.

These are just covers, not new upholstery. Very good covers, but removable quite easily. I could still experiment at a later time.

[freebeard]

In my yellow Squareback with the black interior I had [imitation] sheepskin seat covers. If I was doing it again, I'd get real sheepskin; I think it would wear better.

Warm in the winter, cool in the summer, less clothes the better.

[Xist]

I just received my new steering wheel cover today: I kind of feel like giving a lower review because it says microfiber while the whole thing is plastic.

Maybe the liner is microfiber!

I guess I will add that to my Civic expenses. It seems like insulated sun shades die and fall down when it gets too hot, so I stopped using mine, and suddenly my steering wheel is crumbling on top. Does your steering wheel cover lace on? I expected one like that, but mine is elastic and very tight. I almost got my spare tire levers!

You can reuse window tint?

My seat cushion wore out over one the rails, I was actually developing an injury from it. Strangely, nobody has asked why I have a big red cushion in my car with a dark interior. I would kind of like to properly address the problem, but also kind of like keeping my money!

A place relatively close has an A grade driver's seat for $40. It would probably cost more than that to redo the padding.

My sister insists the car is ugly. I always think I could fill in some deep scratches and paint, or put that money towards a house, but I do not like the housing market right now.

I do not harass the women in my family, why do they bug me?

[California98Civic]

Hi guys,
Freebeard, I had one of those sheepskin covers, a white color. I liked it but it did get dirty and show it and the straps that held it on wore out in two years. These don't rely on strap tricks for the main fit. It is more like a laser-fit glove you slide on.

Hi xist,
yes, that steering wheel cover is a lace on kind. it took a couple hours to get right. My previous one was a leather look plastic lace on. It was so-so. After five or six years it too got old. I coulda kept it though. Btw, my steering wheel is starting to crack at the top. It's just really old polymer. Nothing is foreva!

Let the car rot and save money for a house! Buy less house than you think you need, in worse shape than you think you can stand. Bargain harder than you feel you should. Borrow less than they offer. Rehab with your own sweat more than you thought you'd have time for! ☺

[Xist]

I am pretty sure that allowing my car to rot would cost more in the long run. I wish I could have known how fast-paced the housing market would be moving when I came home from Germany; I do not know if I ever really had a chance.

I would prefer to have a VA loan. As I understand it, the home cannot have any faults whatsoever to qualify. The ones that I see on-line are far less appealing and far more expensive than four years ago.

Some friends that were also in the Army bought a house before I met them. They bought a fixer-upper and then saved more money by not fixing anything!

I do want a smaller home and to pay it off well before thirty years.